Thanks you to everyone for their comments. I agree that the speakers look amazing and I'm happy I went with the High gloss instead of just the Boston Cherry.
Bugbitten: The stands may have some inherit damping properties, but I haven't done any testing thus far. The significant downside is that their cost greatly outweighs the speakers, since that's about $12,000 of schooling right there. I hope all that hard work pays off and gives me a nice coherent soundstage across the front. Now the surrounds are much higher, so those stands may take awhile to assemble...
Hutzal: Good luck with the 3 week wait. I know I was hurting pretty bad at the start and end of the wait period, but during the middle portion I was busy assembling my speaker stands.
Screefer: If you have extra money buring a hole in your pocket, I'd say go for it. If not, the EP350 is by no means a poor sub. The sound was very similar in most cases, just a lack of low, bone-shaking bass. The choice is up to you... or your significant other if you're lucky enough to have one holding your chain (to think I could have one of those in a few years... scary
)
dllewel: That sounds like a great suggestion, but I'm not sure if I could keep them that way. My computer desk it just a few inches away from my left main as is and the chair would likely hit the left main if it were as far out as the center. The right main has a door right beside it that swings wide enough to hit it where it is now, so it could only open about half way if the right main were out to the center. Due to these limitations, what would you recommend having as a minimum distance from the wall to sound their best? I had them nice and close for extra bass response so that when my EP350 cut out, the bass from the fronts 'sort of' took its place until it turned back on (the receiver was sending bass to both sub and fronts). With the new sub, this no longer required and I can reposition them to get the best sound instead of just bass. Suggestions are welcome from everyone.
I got to watch the first half of "Master and Commander" last night (then I went to work on those speaker stands again
). The first part where the enemy ship shows up and lets all hell loose really came out amazing. Splintering wood everywhere, nice boomy cannon fire, it sounded great. I think this is a great scene to give the surrounds a good workout. Hopefully I'll get to finish it off tonight, otherwise in the next few days (again, hopefully).
